3 Globalization and the Economics of Intellectual Property Rights: Dancing the Dual Distortion

Economics of Intellectual Property Rights Structures and Objectives of IPRs Sectoral Reliance on IPRs The Evolving US System: Protectionism Unchained? Globalization and the Technology Content of Trade Pressures for Change in the Global IPRs System Summary

4 The Global Effects of Intellectual Property Rights: Measuring What Cannot Be Seen

Measuring Intellectual Property Rights across Borders Determinants of Intellectual Property Rights The Effects of IPRs on International Economic Activity IPRs and International Technology Transfer Summary

274 pages.
Over the past 15 years, intellectual property rights (IPRs)—patents, copyrights, and trademarks—have moved from an arcane area of legal analysis and a policy backwater to the forefront of global economic policymaking. In the 1990s, dozens of countries unilaterally strengthened their laws and regulations in this area, and many others are poised to do likewise. At the multilateral level, the successful conclusion of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) in the World
Trade Organization elevates the protection and enforcement of IPRs to the level of solemn international commitment.
The new global IPR system comes with both benefits and costs. Stronger IPR protection should increase incentives for innovation and raise returns to international
technology transfer. However, it also could raise the costs of acquiring new technology and products, shifting the global terms of trade in favor of technology producers and against technology consumers. In this context, the new regime raises international economic policy questions concerning sensitive issues such as patent protection of pharmaceuticals and biotechnological inventions, and copyright protection for Internet transactions.
In the first comprehensive economic assessment of the effects of stronger international IPRs, Keith E. Maskus examines these competing claims through an analysis
of the economic effects of extended international protection and partial harmonization of IPRs. He presents findings on the potential effects of stronger global IPRs, including likely impacts on foreign direct investment, technology transfer, and pricing under enhanced
market power. The results bear directly on several important policy questions, including the
construction of complementary initiatives on market liberalization and competition rules, and Maskus discusses whether priority attention should be devoted to them in the
upcoming next round of global trade talks.ISBN:0-88132-282-2